Chris DeMarco, New York Liberty’s New Coach
The New York Liberty have reached an agreement to hire Chris DeMarco as their new head coach. DeMarco, who served as an assistant for the Golden State Warriors for a long time, will take over the position on the WNBA team. The terms of the agreement were finalized on Friday by Liberty executives and DeMarco’s agent, Brian Elfus. DeMarco has been with the Warriors since 2012, holding various roles, including assistant coach and player development coach. During his time in Golden State, he helped the team win four NBA titles. In addition, he has been the head coach of the Bahamas men’s national basketball team since 2019. Although DeMarco will be on the Warriors’ bench in the short term, he is expected to join the Liberty at some point this season. The exact schedule is yet to be determined. DeMarco was in charge of the Warriors’ defense and worked closely with Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole during his time on the team. Among the other candidates considered by the Liberty were Will Weaver, former assistant of the Brooklyn Nets; Kristi Toliver, former WNBA champion and current associate coach of the Phoenix Mercury; and Jama Mahlalela, assistant of the Toronto Raptors. The Liberty are one of five WNBA teams that have hired a head coach this offseason. The contract of predecessor Sandy Brondello expired in September.After winning their first WNBA championship in 2024, New York looked capable of defending the title with a 9-0 start in 2025, before injuries affected stars like Jonquel Jones and Breanna Stewart, among others, and the team was eliminated from the postseason in the first round. At the time of Brondello’s departure, Kolb said the franchise was seeking “evolution and innovation” and asked: “How do we position ourselves to be at the top of the league in a truly sustainable way as the league evolves?” Brondello, who was with the team for four seasons, has since said that she believed the alignment was not right between her and the Liberty’s management and indicated that there was a lack of partnership. She was officially hired as the first coach of the Toronto Tempo earlier this month. With most of the roster becoming free agents this offseason, pending a new collective bargaining agreement, New York only has two players under contract: veterans Leonie Fiebich and Nyara Sabally. But Kolb said he has the “utmost confidence” that stars Stewart, Jones and the No. 1 pick of the 2020 draft, Sabrina Ionescu, will want to return to Brooklyn in 2026. Ionescu contacted Warriors star Steph Curry during the recruitment process to ask about DeMarco.We need to get this right. If we’re going to make a bold decision like this, our players deserve to get the best, and so we will take the necessary time.
Jonathan Kolb, General Manager of the Liberty
